


Library

by yuletide_archivist



Category: Old Kingdom - Garth Nix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-12-22
Updated: 2004-12-22
Packaged: 2018-01-25 03:08:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1628387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuletide_archivist/pseuds/yuletide_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cameron finds a very interesting book in the Library.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Library

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Northland

 

 

 

 

Author's note:  
"Request 3: Abhorsen trilogy (Any)  
Details: something featuring the Clayr, please"  
It started out about Nagy and the Clayr, but it morphed into this... I always wondered how others looked at Lierel. Please forgive all the bad Biology jokes. It's end of semester and I need something to amuse me though all the tests.   
Because I'm a horrible procrastinator, this is un-betaed beyond my abilities, and Word's, of course.

::::

It was late fall in the Old Kingdom, a cold, wet day. The rain was sporadically interspersed with slush, and the night's chill had frozen enough puddles that footing was treacherous. His favorite activities, riding and wandering around the outdoors in general, cut off by this; Cameron fled his hoard of board half-sisters to the Library.

It wasn't that Cameron disliked the Library; one simply can't grow up raised by one of the Kingdoms foremost Charter Mages and bibliophiles without gaining some affection for the written word. Cameron just preferred exploring and seeing all the things in books to reading about them. However, the sleet and edgy sisters conspired to drive him into hiding.

The Palace Library was a wonder. The King, Touchstone, and the Abhorsen Sabriel had managed to gather a collection which might someday rival the Clayr's - monsters and all. But it was the Abhorsen-in-waiting, the Clayr Lirael, who had made the Library her special project.

Cameron eventually gravitated toward the travel sections, alternately amused and fascinated by the various travelers' commentary and their exploits in forgin lands. He eventually came across an odd volume, perhaps shelved poorly, simply called "Creatures, By Nagy". It was bound in worn brown leather, and hand-copied in a neat, round hand. Cameron frowned at the page for a moment. The handwriting seemed familiar... shrugging, he reasoned that the unknown scribe must have been well-trained.

Opening the book and turning to the title page, he was surprised by the dedication. It said:  
For my mother, who told me her stories, and her poppy-field where I met one.  
~N.  
...How could you meet a story? Or perhaps Nagy meant meeting the people in the stories. Odd.   
But as Cameron flipped to the Contents, he was easily distracted by the chapter titles. The entire book seemed to be a bestiary of sorts, with an emphasis on harmful Free-Magic creatures. Several names and page numbers were underlined lightly with graphite, among which were Silken, Hish and Planariae.

Cameron shivered at the memory of Planariae. A colony of the large, deadly flatworms had invaded the city's sewer system roughly 3 months ago, and the council was still cleaning up the damage. The Abhorsen had been in the field, dealing with the Necromancer animating the patchwork beasts, and Lirael, the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, had been sent to deal with the colony before it could foul up the entire city's water supply. Planariae were large bundles of dead animal flesh reanimated with a weak spirit by a Necromancer, but the poisonous slime they excreted was contaminating to anything it touched. They were very difficult to deal with; as they were so simple they could regenerate even without a Necromancer present.

Flipping though the book, Cameron noted more underlining and light notes in the same clear hand as the unknown scribe. Perhaps it was a personal copy, written out by some student long ago, to mark up and scribble in? Cameron wouldn't be surprised. His father was a great advocate of marking up books.

Cameron stood like that, engrossed in the book until soft foot steps and a discreet clatter woke him to the fact that a woman with a cart of books wanted to get though. He jumped out of her way when he realized it was the Abhorsen-in-waiting herself, although in an unfamiliar waist coat of red. It wasn't uncommon to see the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, but that was normally at ceremonies. She was very tall, and very pale, like always, but he was surprised to see a startled expression on her face.

"Sorry," he said quickly, "I was just reading." He held up the book like a safe conduct. The startled expression on her face gave way to an oddly fond glance, like the book was an old favorite. "Oh no, it's fine." She answered slowly. Then she turned and began to shelve the books on her cart. A sudden thought compelled Cameron to squeeze past her (although there was plenty of room in the corridor) and go check out his book. Suddenly, he was ravenously hungry.

When he reached his family's apartments, he was pleasantly surprised to see the weather had cleared up a bit, although it was still kind of slushy. Maybe I'll go out later, Cameron thought. After eating, he decided. Although one of his sisters was still in the living room, she merely snuggled deeper into her nest of blankets and glared at him until he left the room. When he asked her where the rest of the family was, she shrugged. Cameron eyed her warily- Kat was one of the least capricious of his sisters, but it really wasn't the best time to test that. And if Delia was still around, lingering wasn't a good thing. Del was... nasty at best, and needlessly cruel.

In the small, albeit well-furnished, kitchen space, Cameron carefully put the book down out of the way. Then he made himself a ham and cheese sandwich, picked up the book and went to his father's workshop. Technically he wasn't supposed to be in there. It was a smaller, two-room extension of their apartments, the first room serving as a small private library and the second a workroom of sorts. He had been in the workroom once, when he was three or four, with his father. He had a vague recollection of tiny jeweled machine animals and wood shavings everywhere. Cameron had never been in the workroom since (it was charter sealed) but when his father wasn't home, he often snuck into the library portion. Like now, for instance.

Sinking back into the big, soft leather chair in the library, Cameron set to reading "Creatures", nibbling occasionally on his sandwich. He started when, maybe twenty minutes later, his father entered the library.   
"Good afternoon Cameron- hiding from your sisters?" His father asked pleasantly. Cameron nodded, confused. Normally anyone in their father's library got yelled at. But since that had not happened yet, he decided to try to act normal. "Yeah, I was reading. How'd your visit with your sister go?"  
Cameron's father had been out all morning with his sister, Cameron's aunt. He suspected by the sudden frown on his father's face it hadn't gone well. Cameron never got along with his aunt either. She was too opionated and too prone to yell when you did some she either liked or didn't like.  
"Okay. We went over some of the paper work for a few of the garrisons, but I forgot some of the forms we'd need. What are you reading?"  
Cameron lifted the book up to show his father the cover. Father's eyes suddenly lit up.  
"I remember that book! I saw it once in the Clayr's library... A different edition I think, but it was an excellent book on free-magic beasties."  
Cameron grinned. "Yeah, I found it in the palace library, in the Travels section. I think it was a student copy, see-"he held out the open book, pointing out the careful notes.  
Cameron's father laughed suddenly, "I know that hand- this was Lirael's copy! I didn't know she had put it in circulation."

Cameron gaped at his father for a second. "The Abhorsen-in-Waiting?"  
"Yes. She's used that copy as long as I've known her. You sure it was in circulation?" his father asked.  
Cameron nodded. "It had the little card pouch at the back and everything." He said.

Cameron's father got a contemplative look. "Interesting. Well, I have to get back to your aunt with those forms." He said, and quickly entered the workroom. Pausing in the doorway, he gave Cameron a sharp look. "If I catch you in here at any other time of the month, Cameron, I'll take away your riding privileges for a month, more if you touch anything. Got that?"

Cameron nodded, not planning to follow that direction at all. As his father left, he turned his renewed attention back to the little book.

It was the Abhorsen-In-Waiting's personal copy. Cool.

 

 

 


End file.
